Why is my deduction defaulting to standard when my Federal tax is now so much higher as a result? Why isn't it itemizing like it usually would?

With the doubled standard deduction this year, are you positive you have enough to itemize?

If you would like to switch over to Itemized Deductions and see how it impacts your return, you can do so by taking the following steps: 

1.) In the search bar in the upper right-hand corner, type itemized deductions, choosing

2.) Click on the Jump To link to go directly to the page 

3.) Check the box that says Change My Deduction

You can change back to the Standard Deduction by taking the same steps, should you change your mind. 

If you are using the desktop version of TurboTax, you can also view your Schedule A to see the total of your deductions that have been entered into TurboTax. Certain deductions have limitations, which TurboTax calculates automatically for you. You can do this by clicking Forms in the upper right-hand corner, clicking Open Form on the left-hand side, and typing Schedule A into the search bar. 

While turbo tax recommends I use the Standard Deduction rather than Itemize, I save ~$1,800 by Itemizing.  It seems that the selection algorithm does not take into account a change in my AMT Tax Credit which goes up by itemizing.

In Desktop version, there is an option to force Schedule A.

Not sure about TurboTax Online.

That's how I could see the difference in my taxes between the suggested Std deduction and the forced Itemized deduction

If you would like to switch to Itemized Deductions and see how it impacts your return follow these steps: 

• With TurboTax open enter  itemized deductions, choosing in the search box
• Click on the Jump To link in the results window.
• Check the box that says Change My Deduction

You can switch back to the Standard Deduction by taking the same steps.